Simon would be the first to admit that he knew little to none about video games. Heβd played them as a kid, but that only had been to spend time with his sister. Heβd taken more interest in dusty novels and music playing in his headphones and sleeping between the crumpled sheets of his bed as heβd gotten older.
Despite this fact, Simon found himself a frequent visitor of the Uptown Cinema. And he wasnβt there to watch any of the currently showing movies. Instead, he found himself in the middle of the arcade, the same room where heβd so often spied his sister playing on one of the various machines.
It was those machines that he now perused. Simon stood just long enough for the high scores to flick past. If he recognized none of the names (most of them vulgar), heβd pass without a second glance. Despite the fact that it had been more than three years since his sister had last stepped inside the arcade, there were still one or two machines where he found her name among the top scores.
Simon passed by any game that was occupied by a person, but there was one machine in particular he stopped at regardless. Just how many times had Simon come in here and seen Lauren standing behind this game? Just how many hours had she spent with her fingers rapidly pressing the plastic buttons?
He hadnβt meant to disturb the younger girl, but it was almost as if the words were pulled from his throat.Β βYou know, my sister used to spend all day playing that game. I swore she was glued to the chair,β A laugh almost escaped his lips as he recalled the memory.Β βAre you any good at it?β
